George Toteff, revolutionary in 1/25th-scale plastic models, dies

With his passing earlier this month, George Toteff, model car pioneer, has left an enduring legacy on the model car-building hobby.

Who was George Toteff? Where to start? He created the AMT 3-in-1 model kit. He devised tooling so that model car bodies could be molded in a single piece – no more fussy multipiece bodies. When he left AMT to start MPC, in 1963, he insisted on doing different cars (or different versions of the same cars) than AMT had done. He also did a range of 1/20th-scale cars. By 1970, Toteff turned his attention toward Lionel trains, saving them from their long decline. In the early ’90s, he turned to Lindberg and did the same for them (he launched a range of 1/20th-scale car kits with them, also).

Toteff, a member of the Hobby Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame, died February 1 at his home in Michigan. He was 85. Round2Models has a more complete appreciation of George Toteff’s professional legacy.